1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a four-layer intellectual cube, and especially to a four-layer intellectual square cube having on each side thereof, sixteen movable smaller blocks arranged horizontally and vertical. The smaller blocks can be rotated and can slide to change their orientations, so that each side of the square cube can be varied in combination by colors or patterns, and this can arouse brains of people to get an intelligence enhancing effect.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional intellectual cube (or so called magic cube) is a square cube A having six sides each composed of nine (3.times.3) movable smaller surfaces arranged in three layers. Normally the six sides of the square cube A are each have a different color, i.e., the nine small movable areas in each side formed by the nine smaller blocks are respectively in one color, so that when any layer is rotated to change the positions of the corresponding blocks, the small movable areas in every side in this layer are moved respectively to another side of a different color, and the resulting sides have miscellaneous colors. The way to play is to mix up the colors of the six sides of the square cube A, and then to rotate all the layers to move every group of movable areas having the same color to their proper side, until all the six sides of the square cube A recover their own singular colors.
The structure of the three-layer intellectual cube is now described firstly. It is comprised, as is shown in FIG. 2, of a cross shaped central axle block 1, six rotatable blocks 2, twelve edge-blocks 3 and eight corner-blocks 4.
The cross shaped central axle block 1 is formed by the intercrossing of three axles perpendicular to one another so that the cross shaped central axle block 1 has six pivotal connecting ends 5 extending in different orientations.
The rotatable blocks 2 are pivotally connected respectively to each of the pivotal connecting ends 5, so that the rotatable blocks 2 are located at the centers of the six sides of the square cube A respectively and form therewith "T" shapes. These surfaces face outwardly and are rotatable.
The twelve edge-blocks 3 are each positioned between two neighbouring rotatable blocks 2. Taking the rotatable block 2 that faces to the front side as a reference block, there are four edge blocks 3 allocated to the front surface and respectively at the top, bottom, left and right ends thereof. The rear rotatable block 2 is also accompanied by four edge blocks 3 allocated respectively at the top, bottom, left and right ends thereof; plus other four edge blocks 3 provided in the middle zone between the front and the rear sides, the total amount of the edge blocks 3 is twelve.
The corner blocks 4 are located each between every two edge blocks 3 in any one of the six sides, there are totally eight corner-blocks 4 forming the eight corners of the square cube A, they surround the rotatable blocks 2 together with the twelve edge blocks 3, when in rotation of any layer of the three layer intellectual square cube A, the rotatable block 2 on the layer rotates at its own site, while the corner blocks 4 and the edge blocks 3 in this. layer circle about the rotatable block 2.
By means of the above stated three layer square cube A composed of the cross shaped central axle block 1, the rotatable blocks 2, the edge blocks 3 and the corner blocks 4, any of the six pivotal connecting ends 5 on the cross shaped central axle block 1 is the center of rotation of its corresponding rotatable block 2 (the central movable surface) as well as of the multiple surrounding movable surfaces on the same side as that of the rotatable block 2, and there are totally nine (3.times.3) movable surfaces in each side of the six sides of the square cube A.